Ballroom dancing at MIT began in the spring of 1974 when the MIT/Wellesley Ballroom Dancing Club was founded by a group of enthusiastic MIT and Wellesley college students. During the January Independent Activities Period (IAP) of that year, MIT had offered an introductory ballroom dance class taught by Harry Brauser, a folk dancer from the Mandala group. At the conclusion of the IAP, Harry began organizing a trip to the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, which was to be sponsored by Breck Shampoo to help them film a television commercial in the ballroom. The students started practicing, but, unfortunately, the trip never materialized and Harry left MIT. By then, however, the students were hooked on ballroom dancing and continued the club on their own.